


In the Dark

by raphae11e, twitchtipthegnawer



Series: Overwatch Oneshots [7]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Beltane, Fae & Fairies, Groping, Illustrated, Making Out, Multi, Pagan Festivals, Public Display of Affection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-27
Updated: 2016-07-27
Packaged: 2018-07-27 03:42:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7602019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/raphae11e/pseuds/raphae11e, https://archiveofourown.org/users/twitchtipthegnawer/pseuds/twitchtipthegnawer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Reyes would have been glad that Jack was too much of a traditionalist to celebrate Beltane with something as asinine as a Maypole, but he kind of liked the phallic imagery. Not that he wasn’t going to get his hands on some phallic imagery anyway-- it was a fertility festival, after all-- but it would’ve been kind of funny to see Jack dancing around one regardless.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In the Dark

Beltane was always a really big fucking deal. That did not mean that Gabriel Reyes was looking forward to it in the slightest, on account of how it had absolutely nothing to do with him. As a lechuza, he was a creature of darkness and death, not some feel good celebration about flowers.

Of course, none of that had stopped Jack from inviting him. _Again._ Gabriel supposed it wasn’t _too_ terrible, because it wasn’t like he’d be the only unseelie fae there, but it was still annoying how oblivious his partner often was.

They arrived at the celebration site off the coast of ireland in a flurry of feathers. Reyes’ were all black, his peculiar coat a point of pride. And of course, Jack was a collared dove shifter, which Gabriel had scoffed at right up until the moment Jack had first flattened him during training. Turned out that dove wasn’t a pacifist at all.

Widowmaker had already arrived and was standing at the edge of the circle of firelight. As Jack ran to greet Reinhardt with a skip in his step and more energy than a man his age had any right to Gabriel made his way to her. “Amelie,” he said, his growl warmer than usual. “You’re here early.”

Blinking her six eyes mildly, Widowmaker took one of his hands in both of hers. “The sky has been quiet, of late,” she said. “Arianrhod had no need of me tonight.” Her french accent was smooth, and her long, spindly fingers bespoke her true nature as a violin spider.

“Ain’t that a treat,” said a voice behind Gabriel. “Both of my favorite killers, and the sun’s not even all the way down yet.” McCree slung his arm around Gabriel, and while Reyes fought to keep a stern look on his face, it was difficult to fight the mischievous coyote grin McCree was giving him.

Standing near McCree were two oni, one of whom was looking around with wide, blue eyes. Gabriel recognized one of them as Genji, an uppity brat covered in angry red scars. He was good to have around in a fight no matter how bad his attitude got though, so Gabriel mostly tolerated him.

The blue oni stepped forwards, inclining his head politely to Reyes as he neared. “Hello,” he said, polite and terse at the same time somehow; nothing like Genji at all. “I am Hanzo Shimada. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

He held out his hand for Gabriel to shake, and Gabriel blinked at it owlishly before chuckling. Shimada’s back went ramrod straight, but McCree clapped him on the back, and it seemed to knock some of the tension out of him. “Good ol’ Gabe’s not gonna trust you that quick, babe,” McCree said into Hanzo’s ear.

Huh, Gabriel hadn’t known that oni blushed the color of their eyes. Beside him, Amelie had one hand covering her smirk, though he wasn’t sure why she bothered; with six eyes, her face was too alien for most to be able to truly read it. And those that were close enough to her to understand her expressions wouldn’t be fooled by a hand over her mouth.

While Gabriel was enjoying the little knot of unseelie that had formed before that dreaded loudmouth Jamie could show up, Jack had predictably been hugging his old friends, dour demeanor completely gone now that he was surrounded by the fey energy of Beltane. Gabriel watched him wrap his arms around Hildebrand-- oops, he meant Reinhardt-- a bit _too_ tightly, and felt his eyes narrow.

Amelie’s many-faceted stare missed nothing, especially when it came to the web of connections between people and fae. “There is no rule that you cannot go to him, tonight,” she said, impeccable court manners down to her toes. She even looked the part, in a surprisingly modern dress that had a plunging neckline and a sleek black shape that pooled at her feet.

“No rule you can’t cling to your girlfriend, either,” he pointed out. They both watched as the tiny, enthusiastic selkie greeted Jack, her high voice carrying a british accent clear through the air. Amelie sighed delicately.

“She has been feeling chained down, as of late. Tonight she needs some space,” said Widowmaker, not a little put-out. Gabriel bumped his shoulder into hers, breaking her poise for a moment.

“Still don’t get why you’d wanna date a selkie,” he teased, knowing that she wouldn’t take him seriously no matter his tone. “They’re so _skittish._ Bet you have to be delicate with her just to keep her from running off.”

Amusement glittering in her pitch eyes, Amelie shook her head. “Non. I think you will find selkies do not mind roughness at all.” Reyes raised his eyebrows, but Widowmaker tilted her head instead of elaborating, her version of a wink.

Together they watched as the sky darkened and stars winked to life above them. The huge bonfire in the center of the clearing roared higher as the last rays of sunlight died, separating the unseelie fae from the seelie for a moment. But it died down soon enough, and the roaring cheers of seelie rose into the air. The celebration had officially begun.

Jack was at Reyes’ side, and Gabriel hadn’t even seen him move. It was a good thing he’d become so attuned to the dove’s presence, because if anyone else had snuck up on him like that they wouldn’t’ve liked the consequences. “Here,” Jack said, handing him a tankard. “If we don’t loosen you up, you’ll never have fun.”

Gabriel’s eyes narrowed, but he still sipped at the sweet mead. It must have been charmed, because warmth spread through his body from his stomach supernaturally fast. _If there’s anything the seelie can do right_ , he thought, _it’s make a good drink._

As he sipped, he watched Lena zip around the surrounding fields, as quick on land as she was in the water. She was collecting flowers, and he had a pretty good bet who they were for. “You gonna get me some flowers too, while you’re playing delivery boy?” Gabriel asked, watching Jack from the corner of his eye.

“There’s no hawthorn nearby,” Jack said by way of an answer. And then he laughed, bright and so much younger than usual it made Gabriel smile a bit to hear it. “But if you want it so bad Gabe, I wouldn’t mind.”

There was something suggestive in Jack’s tone, and Gabriel grinned wolfishly to hear it. These fae parties always ended with the same thing, and he was certainly looking forward to that, if not the rest of the celebration. Of course, just as his thoughts were getting a bit more anticipatory, a pop sounded behind him, followed by a howl.

“Howdy fuckers,” Jamie said, voice as loud and annoying as his howl was. “How’s the party goin? What’d we miss?” Mako was silent beside him, a monstrous taniwha that seemed to be perpetually pissed off.

“Alright, who invited _them_ ,” Mei groused. Her breath puffed little ice crystals into the air, the opposite of warm breath in the cold. She’d always been somewhat inadequate at keeping her powers under control

“No idea love,” Tracer said, and she looked almost as annoyed, which was quite a feat. Some days, Gabriel thought her only mood was an utterly annoying _delight._ “‘Cause it definitely wasn’t me or Amelie!”

“Not guilty,” Reyes muttered, then smirked as Jack slapped his arm. The liquid in his cup barely sloshed. Jack’s blue eyes met his brown ones, chastisement turning hungry as Jack stared. How much had he had to drink, so far?

He blinked, and suddenly had a faceful of Jamie’s patchy, blond fur in his face. “Jack! Mate!” Jamie was exclaiming, squirming his way between the two of them until Reyes took an abrupt step back. More than looking ridiculous, Jamie always vaguely disgusted him, even when the werewolf was amusing as well.

“Er, hello,” Jack said haltingly. Gabriel allowed a smirk to flit across his face at the thought of his mate (his actual mate, not some human slang term for “friend”) struggling to interact with the erratic lycanthrope.

“Rat, stop crowding him,” Mako rumbled. Reyes resisted the urge to jump; how the hell did the two of them move so quickly and silently, especially on a night when the unseelie were all weaker than normal? Looking up at the sky, Gabriel noted that the moon was waxing, but still.

Pouting, Jamie had slunk away from Jack and towards his huge friend. “Aw, I wasn’t gonna chomp on him or nothin’,” he protested, about half as sincere as Reyes wanted him to be. He narrowed his eyes, but apparently didn’t need to, because Mako was already cuffing him upside the head.

Eerie as the mask on Mako’s face was, it did nothing to hide the anger in his tone. “We will leave if you don’t behave yourself.” His gills were flared all along his ribs, and considering he had quite a bit of rib it was rather impressive.

“Okay, okay,” Jamie finally conceded. He went up on his toes and licked a wet stripe along Mako’s blue mask. “Sorry Hoggy, won’t happen again!”

Privately, Reyes was glad both that Mako’s mask spared them the expression of disgust on his face, and that Reyes himself wasn’t the object of that disgust. Why they hung out together he would never know, because it clearly wasn’t Mako’s choice. And Jamie, crazy as he was, should have at least known that angering Mako was a _particularly_ bad idea. Yet, they were practically joined at the hip.

“What’s the matter, Jamie _hounding_ y’all again?” Said McCree, all drawl and not-so-subtle emphasis. Reyes nearly groaned aloud at the bad joke; Hanzo _did_ groan, though Genji’s laughter almost drowned it out.

The gathering was warm, and as the mead flowed from the huge barrels Lena had brought in, it became more joyful. Jamie didn’t cause too much trouble, so Reyes eventually found that he could relax a bit more. He sat on a log near the flames, and didn’t even tense to stand when more seelie fae arrived.

“Color me surprised,” Jack said, when he was done greeting the newcomers. “I didn’t think you trusted Lucio and Hana half as far as you could throw them.” He sat beside Gabriel, huddled close as much because of necessity as because of desire. His body must have been twice as hot as the bonfire itself.

“I don’t,” Gabriel responded as he tipped back his recently refilled tankard. He swallowed huge gulps, having graduated from sips some time ago. He could feel Jack’s heated gaze on his neck as his Adam’s apple bobbed, and he smiled, causing a drop of mead to escape from the corner of his mouth.

Quick as a snake, nothing like a dove at all, Jack grabbed Reyes’ hand and jerked the mead away. Gabriel opened his mouth to protest, but Jack was already licking at his lips enthusiastically. It was hard to stay pissed with a veteran crawling into his lap, all too-light bones and scarred hands that buried themselves in his hair.

Cheers rang out around them, but Reyes wasn’t paying attention. Most of them would be fucking each other by the end of the night, anyway. And he didn’t much care if they saw him and Jack making out; it was a point of pride, actually, that he looked good enough to tempt his normally frigid mate.

A hot tongue slid into his mouth, sweet and musky. He sucked on it until Jack moaned, relished the feeling of Jack’s soft cheeks against his stubble. He wanted to bite Jack raw _everywhere,_ but before they could get too heated someone dropped bread on their heads.

“Bannock,” said Amelie demurely, the cockblocking bitch. Jack had to lean back to catch his bannock before it fell to the ground, but he didn’t get out of Reyes’ lap, which was something. Widowmaker had put more mead on the log beside them to wash down the bannock, apparently, and Reyes felt a _little_ less pissed at her when he saw that.

They ate together, watched as Mei got the black bannock and pouted. “Do not worry,” Zarya said, placing a dripping hand on Mei’s shoulder. “I am sure you won’t put out the fire this year.” Mei’s pout deepened, but as Zarya gave her a quick kiss on the cheek (she left a wet patch of lake water which immediately froze, gross) she seemed to resign herself to her fate.

Mei stepped back from the fire until she had way more space than was really necessary, then she ran forward, leaping at the last second. She must have reached over ten feet on a cold gust of air, and the fire guttered but didn’t go out. Reyes really couldn’t care less, but Jack had chastised him for looking away last year, so he payed at least token attention.

On the positive side, the fact that Jack’s attention was focused on her meant that Gabriel could rest one broad hand on his knee, rubbing his thumb back and forth. Jack twitched, but he didn’t so much as flick Gabriel a glance, even when Gabriel slid his hand higher up his thigh. Breathing deepening, Reyes watched from the side as Jack’s eyes grew hooded, but didn’t quite close.

Once again Gabriel was interrupted before things could get too raunchy, however. Mei finished her third jump and Jack abruptly stood, dislodging Reyes’ hand. As Morrison turned back to him expectantly Reyes didn’t bother hiding his grimace. “We’re fae,” Reyes pointed out. “Why not break the rules a little? It wouldn’t hurt.”

“Gabe, you know better!” Jack admonished. “Just because we _can_ break the rules doesn’t mean we _should._ Think about the poor humans who live nearby!” But he was giggling by the end, actually _giggling,_ so Reyes couldn’t really get riled up about the little speech.

“Think of the children!” Lena’s high-pitched voice called. Jack laughed harder at that, and Amelie rolled her eyes. At some point the girlfriends had ended up practically glued together, Amelie’s fingers laced over Lena’s stomach and her front pressed all along the selkie’s back. So much for not chaining her down.

Reyes sighed in defeat and took Jack’s hand just as Jamie broke from the crowd with another ear-piercing howl. Mako raced after him, each step shaking the ground nearby. Jack half turned to look at Gabriel, his eyebrows raised. _Eh, why the hell not?_

Hands still clasped together, Reyes and Morrison shot forward. Gabriel could feel Jack’s feathers prickling his palm as they grew in. The two of them sped up, trying to catch up to the blur that Jamie had become when he’d decided to run on all fours. The others chased after them, cold damp on his left where Mei and Zarya must have been, and though Amelie had no tells he was certain she was nearby.

Bright yellow and green streaks covered his vision for an instant when Lucio passed them, and it didn’t piss Gabriel off in the slightest. The second bonfire was far away; they had plenty of time to take back whatever advantage he gained. And they were in no danger of falling behind, their hollow bones giving them an advantage. Jack was high on the sheer life in the air, and the veil between worlds was thin tonight; Gabriel could take advantage of that, even if it didn’t come as naturally.

When fae gathered en masse, it was a recipe for either disaster or a _really_ good time. Reyes wasn’t particular about which he preferred, but he had to admit it felt good to leap over a boulder with Jack beside him, to taste salt on his tongue as Lena drew even. Far behind, Reinhardt whooped for joy despite his slowness.

Tumbling down a hill that he hadn’t spotted in time, Gabriel heard an unfamiliar sound and realized that he was _laughing._ Not chuckling or even making the sadistic, scare-tactic sound he usually made, but really laughing. He got back to his feet and saw Jack grinning at him, knew that he had heard and didn’t mind at all.

They were almost at the second bonfire; Reyes could see it highlighting the tips of Morrison’s grey hair gold, as if it was still that shining blond. It would have to be close enough for Jack, he decided, because he really didn’t want to wait any longer.

This time, when he tackled Jack to the ground and kissed him so hard they were both gasping for breath, no one cheered. They were all a bit too distracted for that. Lucio, with his poison dart spots, was heaving for breath beside Reinhardt, actually as close to the fire as they were meant to be. Most of the others were… _engaged._

Distracted as everyone was, it was easy for Reyes to slip his hands beneath his normally shy mate’s shirt. Jack squirmed as he dragged his nails down Jack’s flanks, satisfaction welling in him. The night was, in fact, exactly as fun as Jack had promised it would be.

**Author's Note:**

>  
> 
> Check out this awesome awesome picture of Hanzo that my bff raphae11e drew! She's amazing and everyone should go read her stuff (lots of awesome Assassin's Creed, you won't be disappointed). Also, I had like, tons of ideas for everyone's powers and stuff that I just couldn't find a way to integrate naturally, so if you have any questions at all don't hesitate to ask!! Also I used celtic reconstructionist instructions for the Beltane ceremony, not neopagan, so if it seems Unusual that's why!
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed reading, and remember! Comments mean more to me than words can say!!


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